News
May 31, 2018Xtraordinary Day of Service Berkshire Bank is Taking the Afternoon Off to Give Back
Early Closing: All locations will close at noon on Tuesday, June 5th
to allow employees to volunteer in their communities
Berkshire Bank is excited to announce that it will once again close all locations at noon on Tuesday, June 5th for its Third Annual Xtraordinary Day, The Power of Giving Back.
Xtraordinary Day provides all Berkshire Bank employees the opportunity to volunteer in communities the Bank and its affiliates serve. This year’s Xtraordinary Day is set to focus on more than 70 community projects with approximately 90% employee participation across the country. Last year, employees helped 75 different nonprofit organizations through 65 service projects and directly impacted more than 400,000 individuals.
As the Berkshire Bank footprint continues to grow, so does this year’s Xtraordinary Day, which benefits nonprofit organizations throughout the United States. Some of this year’s community projects include:
Berkshire County, MA – Habitat for Humanity Multi-Site Build in partnership with Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity; Assembling of teacher appreciation kits at Farmington River Elementary; Landscaping & Painting with Hillcrest Educational Centers; Clean-ups with Housatonic River Walk, Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshire’s Camp Russell and West Stockbridge Historical Society.
Pioneer Valley, MA – Tree Planting & Park Improvements with ReGreen Springfield; Painting and Landscaping of the Amelia Park Children’s Museum, Girls Club of Greenfield, YMCA of Springfield and Lupa Zoo; Painting the West Springfield Boys & Girls Club; Gift wrapping at Birthday Wishes; Shelving books and landscaping at the Westfield Anthaneum.
Central, MA – Assembling and decorating houses for Operation Playhouse with Habitat for Humanity of Metrowest-Greater Worcester; Packing of summer reading bags for all Worcester Public Schools’ second grades students with United Way of Central MA; Building and painting of picnic tables for the YMCA of Central MA; Landscaping and cleaning of the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester.
Eastern, MA – Creating and painting of murals for the Gilbert Albert Community Center; Sorting food donations at the Centre Street Food Pantry; Landscaping, building and painting at Gardner Pilot Academy in partnership with Boston Cares; Preparing for the 5k & 10k race to Crush Cancer with For Kids Sake Foundation; Sorting books at More than Words; Building homes with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell.
Capital District, NY – Performing yard work and painting with Rebuilding Together Saratoga; Sorting and stocking donations at Things of My Very Own; Making animal treats for the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society; Gardening at Liberty Enterprises; Sorting food at the Regional Food Bank of NENY; Painting and building fences at Equine Advocates.
Central, NY – Painting rooms at Utica Children’s Museum and Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency’s Journey Home; Walking and caring for dogs at Helping Hounds Rescue; Making repairs and cleaning at Joseph’s Experience; Landscaping and painting at the Boys & Girls Club of Syracuse; Painting the gathering room at Eastwood Community Center.
Connecticut – Multiple service projects across greater Hartford in partnership with Hands on Hartford to benefit the Keney Park Sustainability Project, South Park Inn, Breakthrough Magnet School, Hartford Food System and Hands On Hartford’s Community Meals Program.
Vermont – Building benches and garden beds for Housing Trust of Rutland’s new Senior Living Units; Gardening and landscaping with the Merck Forest Foundation; Painting the exterior of the Vermont Veterans’ Home.
Mid-Atlantic and beyond – Creating meal packages for Rise Against Hunger in NJ, CA and AZ; Reading and serving snacks at Precious Lamb Child Care in CA; Collecting sponsorships for Hearts for Heroes; Bike Build for Isles, Inc.; Packing backpacks with food at Mercer Street Friends; Park clean-up with Friends of the Wissahickon; Cleaning and stocking facilities for Plano Salvation Army; Sorting food with the Houston Food Bank.
Xtraordinary Day is fueled by the XTEAM®, the Bank’s nationally acclaimed Employee Volunteer Program. The XTEAM provides employees paid time off to volunteer during regular business hours, allowing employees who may not have the free time to commit but the strong desire to participate the opportunity to give back to their community. XTEAM is Berkshire Bank’s way of exemplifying the power of giving back. In addition to volunteer service, Berkshire and its Foundation provide over $2 million dollars annually to support nonprofit organizations in the communities that the Bank serves.
